Chapter IV · Śloka 7
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत ।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata |
abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṃ sṛjāmy aham ||
abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṃ sṛjāmy aham ||
Whenever righteousness declines, O Bhārata, and unrighteousness rises up, then I send forth Myself.
The cosmic rhythm of dharmic decline and divine response is stated here with great economy. Krishna's incarnation is not arbitrary but the universe's self-correcting response to moral entropy.